Dem'Noq was scared, it had been millennia since he was scared, but looking out across the sea of faces that all held a look of utter hatred for him, he knew that this was fear. 

"What do we do Dem'Noq?" The God, Yiu'Loy, asked, one hand still closed around Victoria's body.

"I… I don't know." Dem'Noq said and then turned and started moving away from the humans. "For now, I think we should leave." Dem'Noq waved his hand, and a portal opened in front of him.

"NO!" An angry chorus of voices called out with rage. Dem'Noq felt the wave of power wash past him and shatter the portal. Dem'Noq looked over to Yiu'Loy, planning to ask him to buy some time for Dem'Noq, only to see Yiu'Loy running away full tilt, a singular human breaking away from the crowd to chase after him. 

The rest of the humans were closing in on Dem'Noq. "Fine, I'll do it myself," Dem'Noq said and turned, moving to attack the horde of humans. He did not expect the sheer force of the power that slammed into him. Dem'Noq could tell the individual powers apart, but he did not believe their strength was that of a mortal. 

Each human's attack felt like a blow from a lesser god. Dem'Noq fought, and three hundred humans died. But the end was inevitable as far as the humans were concerned. Eventually, the humans got ropes of green power over his arms and neck, tripping and pinning him to the ground. 

Dem'Noq called out to Cthulhu. "Cthulhu, you are right! I was wrong. Stop them. You win!" 

The humans froze for a minute, looking up at Cthulhu, who had thus far been sitting and watching. Cthulhu considered for a moment, then spoke. "What do you want for this god, my children?" he asked the crowd of humans around the restrained God. 

One of the veterans raised his hand, Clenching his fist in the air and bellowing at a volume that shocked Dem'Noq. "Total Victory!" 

The other humans roared their approval, turned back to their captive, and began using whatever weapons and power they had to dismantle the God tied to the ground.

[Ted's perspective]

As Ted watched Dem'Noq and the other God turn to leave, he and a hundred others called out. "NO!" and shot forth a wave of energy that shattered the portal. Dem'Noq had turned to look at the humans, but the other God, still holding Victoria, had simply taken off running. 

Ted's vision had focused to a finite point; Victoria and the God holding her were the only things that mattered. Everything else seemed to fade from existence. And at that moment, Ted could feel the power that Cthulhu had given him, twisting and shaping his efforts. Ted knew it was time to kill a god. 

The power welled up, and suddenly Ted was moving faster than he ever had, his legs and arms speeding up into a blur as he closed the distance between himself and the God running away. 

When he was close enough, Ted leaped, and in mid-air, he formed his hand into a blade and willed the power within him to burn. Black flames erupted around his hand, and as he passed, he slashed across the arm holding Victoria. 

The God cried out and grasped at the place where Ted had slashed. Ted, who had fallen back to the ground, caught Victoria, wrapped in the now severed hand of God. 

"Hold on one second, my love. I have to teach a lesson." Ted said, prying the dying fingers of the massive hand open and releasing Victoria to stand on her own two feet. 

"Be careful, Ted," Victoria said, taking full breaths for the first time in a while. 

Ted turned towards the God once more, balling up his fists and willing them to burn once more. The God who was clutching his severed arm turned to see Ted walking towards him. 

"Hold on a second, human. We can talk about this." Yiu'Loy said, shrinking down to be of a size with Ted. "See, I'm not so different from you humans." 

Ted smiled at the God, and Yiu'Loy seemed to relax. And then Ted shrugged his entire body weight into a punch that sent a devastating uppercut into Yiu'Loy's jaw. "You take the mother of my child and offer support to our enemies, and then you want to talk?! There will be no talking, only screams." 

The next few moments were a flurry of Ted's fists sinking into Yiu'Loy's face repeatedly. The screams initially issued forth from Yiu'Loy faded as his face was deformed and enveloped in black flames that broiled on Ted's fists. 

[Cthulhu's Perspective]

Cthulhu watched Ted destroy a god with his bare hands and a little power and smiled. He knew the strength of the humans better than any. As he watched two gods slain before him, Cthulhu wondered once more what their limits were. 

Cthulhu focused once more as Ted bashed Yiu' Loy's face into a pulp. He turned his attention to Dem'Noq, who still retained his large size and was struggling valiantly, yet vainly, against the immovable bonds that were the humans. 

Ted and Victoria walked over to the crowd, which had devolved to slicing what chunks they could out of the massive form of Dem'Noq. Cthulhu caught the look in Victoria's eyes and nodded to her slightly. Ted spoke and cleared the humans from around Dem'Noq's neck. 

Victoria stepped up and held her hands above her head as if they were holding a handle, then formed a blade almost comical in how huge it was. Composed entirely of black flame, the blade was easily four times the height of Victoria. 

Dem'Noq looked to Cthulhu and spoke. "Cthulhu, you are wreaking havoc on the balance of the world! If you allow this, the end will be on you!" 

Cthulhu chuckled and smiled. "That may be, but you crossed lines that should not be crossed. You killed someone who all of these humans enjoyed. Now suffer at the hands of those you mocked." Cthulhu nodded, and Victoria brought the blade down on his neck, severing the head from the body in a single stroke. 

The humans destroyed the body, cutting it into small pieces and spreading them across the battlefield. 

As this happened, Ted and Victoria went and got Shiv'Ru's body and approached Cthulhu. They both knelt before him, the body between the two humans and their God. 

"Cthulhu," Victoria said, "can you bring her back?" 

Cthulhu paused; he knew that technically he was capable of the task and that Shiv'Ru's soul was currently residing in the afterlife that Cthulhu had set aside for the humans. But he had never attempted it before and wondered if it would be a good idea. Once again, he felt an emotion that he had thought long forgotten, hesitance.

"It is possible, but perhaps I should show you what you are taking her from before I do this," Cthulhu said, offering a tentacle tip to both Ted and Victoria. Victoria did not hesitate to take it, but Ted had only touched Cthulhu once, and he had not enjoyed it. "Take it, Ted; I promise it is worth what I will show you." 

Ted took the tentacle, and Cthulhu temporarily stripped their consciousness from their bodies to show them the afterlife that Shiv'Ru had decided to build for herself. Those on the outside, watching Ted and Victoria, noticed that both Ted and Victoria smiled, and tears began streaming down their faces simultaneously. Moments later, Ted and Victoria let go of the tentacles. "Thank you," they said together. 

"We will not take her from the world she had built," Victoria said. 

"We will bury her on the moon and all the humans that fell here," Ted said, and those around him nodded. They quietly gathered all their fallen and carefully loaded them into the Caeleste Castrum.

It took them four hours to get everything ready to transport, and they all loaded up and began the journey back home to Earth.

[Rughly nine months after the war.]

Cthulhu looked around him; the moon was bustling with activity and the center for interspecies relations. Dignitaries of races and representatives from other galaxies who wished to throw off the yokes of their gods bustled to and fro. The news of the humans and their strange second God had spread throughout the hall of the divine and through the multiverse. More races suffering under other pantheons and other gods had reached out to arrange contact with the humans. 

Through it all, the humans had remained humble; they had offered help where they could and assisted those who desperately needed it, but only on two occasions had they needed to fight. And they renewed their claim to the unofficial title of god slayers each time. Cthulhu loved Humanity all the more for their choices, bringing into the fold all who they could and only dealing harshly with those who they could not convince otherwise. 
All of this rushed through Cthulhu's head as he was gestured into a room by Ted. In the room, Victoria lay holding not one but two daughters, Twins who she had just given birth to. 

Victoria smiled tiredly up at Cthulhu. "My apologies for not rising, Cthulhu, but I will remain in bed if that is all right with you." 

"Of course," Cthulhu said. His tone was calm and collected, but inside, Cthulhu was very confused. Once more, emotions that he had long thought forgotten were rising in him. Wonder at life, Love for Humanity, and sheer panic at the thought that he might harm the children of his most faithful Priestess. 

"Would you like to hold them?" Victoria said, looking up at her God from the bed. 

"I do not know how the mind-meld that happens when a mortal touches me will affect them," Cthulhu stated plainly, wondering what Victoria and Ted would have to say to this. 

Ted cast a cautioning eye on his God, and Cthulhu knew that if he harmed these children, Ted would never let him rest unless Cthulhu killed him. Victoria, however, simply proffered the swaddled bundles that were her daughters to her God. 

Cthulhu's tentacles reached out and delicately took the bundles. Cthulhu put a hand over each child cradled in his tentacles, and they reached out a tiny hand towards his fingers. When they touched, Cthulhu felt none of the confusion that most mortals felt when he touched them. Instead, there was only calm. 

Cthulhu handed back the children and thanked Ted and Victoria. Cthulhu knew where his emotions were coming from now and needed to think about it. 

Cthulhu would think about this for a long time, almost a hundred years. He watched Victoria and Ted continue to have children, inviting their God to meet the new child each time. Cthulhu watched these children grow into adults of their own. He watched these adults have their own children and was invited to meet each child. Cthulhu would go every time, still pondering his emotions. 

Cthulhu watched as Victoria and Ted were laid to rest after many years of life and after helping countless races and gods join into what the humans and Cthulhu had created. 

When Cthulhu finally finished thinking about his emotions, Ted and Victoria's granddaughter, Shiv'Rana, who was half Chilxan and named in honor of the Chilxan who had facilitated the freedom of the Chilxan people, was the current leader of what had become the largest interspecies coalition to ever exists.

[Cthulhu's home, Lunar Surface, roughly 20 years after the death of Ted and Victoria]

"knock," Shiv'Rana said, leading her child into the building. "Sorry to bother you, Cthulhu." 

"Not at all. Is there something that I can do for you Shiv'Rana?" Cthulhu asked. He loved to see humans come around his home, they had built it for him, but very few ever came by, as most of them thought he would be angry. 

"I have two things I'm here for today," Shiv'Rana said, smiling at her God. "The first is as a mother, I have been attempting to give Theodor here his training powers, but the skill is not working. The second is as the leader of Humanity, but let's deal with Theodor first." 

Cthulhu nodded and walked over to the young boy; all of the descendants of Victoria had no side effects from touching Cthulhu, so the boy didn't even hesitate when the God smiled at him and then placed a tentacle on his forehead. '

"Well, that is because he is beyond the training powers already, you had best start him with something gentle that won't destroy the neighborhood," Cthulhu said, smiling. The Training powers were one of the last things that Victoria had done with her life; she had worked closely with Cthulhu and several others to develop a set of non-lethal abilities that would allow human children to train the power that flowed through all of them since Cthulhu had taken residence on the moon.

"Ohh, another one," Shiv'Rana said with feigned exhaustion, referencing her older child. 

"Yes," Cthulhu said. "What was the other thing that you needed Shiv'Rana?" 

Shiv'Rana sent Theodor outside and then took a seat opposite her God. "Cthulhu, Humanity, well, much of Humanity, has a request to make. It is not something we do lightly. We would ask that you help us gain strength." 

Cthulhu thought for a moment. "How and why?" 

"Let me first say that this is in no way meant to replace you or cast any doubt on the powers you have given us," Shiv'Rana said quickly. "As you know, we have been tasked as essentially the fighting force of the coalition, and we want to fulfill that. But we worry that we are not strong enough. We don't want to have to lean on you forever; we know that you don't mind, but we want to stand on our own in this regard. That is the why." 

Cthulhu nodded, wondering what they could ask for to allow them to do what she had just described. "So, how can I help you achieve this goal?" 

"Well, what we would ask is no small thing and is really two favors," Shiv'Rana said, her voice hesitating. "Firstly, as you know, we have been attempting to terraform Mars. Can you complete what we have started? Mars will be for those who do not wish to participate in the next step. You once attempted to kill Humanity by changing our world. We ask that you change the world again, not to kill us, but to push us to be stronger and develop our abilities." 

Cthulhu thought for a moment. "I am assuming that you and the others who have made this decision know what that means? That you will change, the humans who live on Mars and other worlds will not change with you; for all intents and purposes, Humanity will split into two species." 

Shiv'Rana nodded. Cthulhu looked intently at the young woman. "Very well Shiv'Rana, tell the council that I am willing to do this, but it will mean that I will have to rest for a long time, many human generations. Tell this to the council, and inform the other Gods that I would require something of them for this to occur. 

[One Year Later]

Shiv'Rana had moved quickly; in conjunction with the council, she had asked every human being on Earth if they wanted to be part of the coming change or move to Mars. A surprising number had wanted to stay, but in the end, the population of the Earth was reduced to roughly 500 Million, and the rest of Humanity had been moved to the newly terraformed Mars. 

The gods had approached Cthulhu and asked what he required for this change to happen. Cthulhu had spoken frankly with the gods. "Treat them as your equals. The humans, that is. They will not have me directly but still have their powers. If they need it, stand in for me and guide them as best as you can." 

The gods had, without hesitation, agreed to this. Next, Cthulhu spoke with the entire clan, Ted and Victoria Kenton's descendants. "You all know me; you all have agreed to stay on Earth. So it will fall to you to lead the faith while I am absent. I only ask one thing of you, think of me occasionally. You may choose to keep the high Priestess in the Kenton line, and that is fine, but be kind to all. As I will not be there to guide you in matters concerning your powers, I will give the high Priestess all the knowledge she will need to deal with any issues and the ability to pass this knowledge onto her successor." 

Shiv'Rana knelt in front of Cthulhu, and he placed a tentacle delicately on her head; in a flash, she was laid flat on the floor, breathing hard but recovering quickly. She opened her eyes and smiled at her God. "Thank you!" 

Cthulhu nodded. "Now, to the last matter, you all must swear this will remain in the Kenton family alone." Everyone in the room agreed to this. Cthulhu then spoke of how he could be awakened in an emergency with a ritual. He taught them the ritual but ensured that they understood that there were consequences to the ritual for both those who cast it and Cthulhu. 

Cthulhu then spent the remaining three months planning how to change the Earth again and plotting the massive shifts in power and reality that would make it happen. 

[Day of the End, End of the beginning]

The day had come, the portal from the Earth to the moon had been shut down, and only basic forms of communication from the coalition to Earth would be active. Humanity would split on this day, and Cthulhu was excited to see what happened. 

Cthulhu stood on the coast where he had first revealed himself to Humanity. On the shore with him were the Kenton family and several others. All were saying tearful goodbyes to him as they knew they would all be dead when he awakened again. 

Cthulhu was paying them minimal attention. His mind was focused on setting into motion the massive amounts of his power that would forever alter the planet and those who dwelled upon it.

As he walked back into the depths that had cradled him for so long, Cthulhu knew that when he next awoke, there would be a whole new set of adventures to be had. He returned to his natural form and worked his tentacles deep into the crust beneath his resting place. Cthulhu cast one eye back to the faint light of the surface and wished his humans well as he closed his eyes and began the changes of the planets. 

Waiting for the change of his children or a summon from them, Cthulhu, the Second God of Humanity, slept once more.